Woodbridge grad rows her way to Indianapolis

Hanna Axene (front) didn't begin rowing until the summer before her senior year of high school. However, she has made the most of it since. PHOTO COURTESY OF SMU ATHLETICS

When Irvine native and Woodbridge graduate Hanna Axene told people she was going to be a competitive rower, her friends really didn't know how to react. Axene had been a cheerleader at the school up until that point, and it seemed like a pretty drastic change. It also didn't help that her friends didn't actually know what rowing was, either. She honestly didn't get it for a while either.

"I got 'Is it kayaking?'" Axene, who graduated from Woodbridge in 2011, said with a laugh. "'Canoeing' [was another answer]. I was really the only person at my high school who rowed. And everyone was kind of confused at the sport out of my friends, at least."

Things have certainly changed in 2013. Axene, now a junior at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, is a bonafide athlete. She rows for the Mustangs after receiving an athletic scholarship during her senior year of high school. Her friends and family aren't confused about the sport anymore, either. And, most recently, she was invited to the NCAA's Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis as a student athlete who hopes to make a career in sports after her athletic career ends.

Axene began rowing at the Newport Aquatics Center the summer before her senior year of high school. She wanted to participate in a sport collegiately, and cheerleading wasn't doing it for her.

"She took a summer camp ... and immediately she took to it," her mother Kim said. "And then she learned the sport, decided that was for her and, as the school year progressed, she started getting recruited from colleges throughout the country."

She continued to row at Newport and still does during the summer as most in high schools in California don't have rowing teams. Axene loves the intensity of the sport; the fast-paced nature and the mental toughness it takes are what drew her to it and keeps her there.

"It's a whole different kind of adrenaline and craziness compared to any other sport," Hanna Axene said. "Our races are longer, they're about seven to eight minutes, sometimes even faster. And they're sprinting the whole time. It's a complete rush and feeling that you don't get competing in any other sports."

While she's focused on her athletic career at the moment, Axene, a sports management major, also knows her education is crucial. It's always been important to her and her family. Plus, rowing doesn't put a lot of food on the table. That's why when she was told about the NCAA's Career in Sports Forum by her life skills counselor, she jumped on the opportunity. It would combine her desire for education with her love of sports, which is where she sees herself down the road professionally. The event is held for NCAA athletes who want to go into a different aspect of sports somewhere down the road. It was right up Axene's alley.

"I really would like to be a sports agent or work with college athletics, [or a] professional team," Axene said. "But my plan is to attend law school to study sports law or attend a sports business masters program to continue my education." She competed against five other SMU student athletes, including football and basketball players, for a coveted spot at the conference. The whole process took longer than she would have liked.

"We submitted our stuff in early April and we didn't find out until the first week of May," Axene said. "I just received an email ... from a woman who works in the NCAA and runs the program, and it was a congratulations email. And I opened it up and all of a sudden I freaked out. I was so excited."

Her mom shared similar joy in the news.

"[I was] Elated. Excited. I mean ... what would your mom's reaction be?" she said. "It's such an honor to be going."

The Axene family saw the conference as an opportunity to network and connect with other student athletes who share similar interests.

"I think every event that you can get yourself involved in what you want to be in the future, that strives towards your goal, is extremely important," the rower said. "In the sports world, It's all about who you know and how you use what you know."

While her immediate future is in the water with an oar in hand, Axene's long-term future might not include rowing. That's precisely why she went to Indianapolis: to gain contacts and learn more about what her professional career might look like while meeting other student athletes. It was a win-win.

"All it can do is benefit you," Hanna said. "It's not something that can set you back. All you're going to do is gain from this experience, and why wouldn't you want to take advantage of something like that?"

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